Community Development, Economic Development, or Community Economic Development? An Introduction

What is “Community Economic Development”?

Depends on who you ask! (Phillips and Pittman) “Most practitioners think of community [economic] development as an outcome – physical, social, and economic improvement in a community – while most academicians think of community [economic] development as a process – the ability of communities to act collectively and enhancing the ability to do so.”

Attempts at a definition: (Green and Haines) “Democratic efforts to build assets that increase the capacity of residents to improve the quality of life in their locality.” (Cawley) "...a deliberate, democratic, developmental activity focusing on an existing social (/economic) and geographical grouping of people who participate in the solution of common problems for a common good." (Darby and Morris) "...an educational approach which would raise levels of local awareness and increase the confidence and ability of community groups to identify and tackle their own problems.

Attempts at a definition: (Dunbar) "...a series of community improvements which take place over time as a result of the common efforts of various groups of people. Each successive improvement is a discrete unit of community development. It meets a human want or need." (Huie) "...the process of local decision-making and the development of programs designed to make their community a better place to live and work.“ (Long) "...an educational process designed to help adults in a community solve their problems by group decision making and group action.“

Attempts at a definition: (Plock) "...the active voluntary involvement in a process to improve some identifiable aspect of community life..." (Wilkinson) "...acts by people that open and maintain channels of communication and cooperation among local groups." (Warren) "...a process of helping community people analysis their problems, to exercise as large a measure of autonomy as is possible and feasible, and to promote a greater identification of the individual citizen and the individual organization with the community as a whole.

Attempts at a definition: (Shaffer) “…the creation and implementation of strategies to promote the economic well-being of the community.” (Deller) “…the process of identifying and analyzing economic issues and the creation and implementation of a set of specific policies aimed at enhancing the economic opportunities of community residents.” Common Themes - process, as opposed to "putting out fires" - citizen involvement => citizen "solutions" - educational - vitality, betterment, quality of life - economic opportunities - change

Attempts at a definition: Community Development: building community assets building community institutions building community capacity Economic Development: building economic opportunity enhancing economic well-being building a resilient economy Community Economic Development: balancing economic development with social, cultural and environmental desires

Attempts at a definition: A “Triple Bottom Line” Approach? Community Economic Development Economics

Community

Environment

Some Background: “Positive” vs “Normative” Economics Normative economics speaks to what should be… Positive economics speaks to what is, was and will be …. Normative is value laden and positive is objective analysis.  Values vary across individuals and communities.  The CNRED Educator’s values are secondary to the community’s.

Some Background: Growth vs Development Growth implies quantitative change, development emphasizes qualitative improvements.

 Growth means more of the same … more jobs, more income, etc.  Development means using resources to enhance human welfare  Development can include growth, but not necessarily vice versa

Continuing debate over whether growth is a necessary condition for development. Can you have development without growth? Depends who you ask.

Some Background: Growth vs Development Growth

Development

•We want more jobs

•We want quality of life

•We want more businesses

•We want economic security

•We want more residents

•We want economic opportunities

•We want more tax base

•We want resilience

•Any growth is good

We want balanced growth

•More, more, more…

Some Background: Growth vs Development So … If your community is adding jobs but the average earnings per worker are declining, is that growth or development? If you work with a local chamber of commerce to provide more effective mentoring services to new local small business owners, is that growth or development? If you create and run a Badgerville Leadership program, is that growth or development?

Are all communities ready for economic development? In the simplest sense, no.  Economic development within the community presumes that certain local institutions are in place and functional (e.g., leadership, citizen participation, viable local business organizations, etc.).  In the strictest sense, community development is a necessary but not sufficient condition for economic development.  Asset building (e.g., skills and capacities of individuals, associations and institutions within a locality) lays the foundation upon which economic development is built.

Interest

Organization

Knowledge, Information, Data

Strategies, Actions, Plans

Effective Community Economic Development

In the end we aim to help the community make more informed decision: information is research based knowledge and making the decision is the process.

There must be a balance between the process of community economic development and the quality of the content of the educational programming. As Cooperative Extension Educators we aim to improve the level of understanding of issues and options through enhanced knowledge while helping the community move forward via effective decisionmaking.

o One of the difficulties with the study and practice of Community Economic Development is the interdisciplinary nature of the problem. o The community is a complex system and a systems thinking approach is required. o Two paradigms or frameworks are offered to help put structure on the system:  Shaffer Star  Floras’ Community Capitals

A Community Economic Development Paradigm: The Shaffer Star DECISION-MAKING

RESOURCES

MARKETS SPACE

SOCIETY

RULES

An Alternative Paradigm: The Floras’ Community Capitals

Financial Capital Built Capital

Political Capital

Viable Communities

Natural Capital

Cultural Capital

Social Capital

Human Capital

Can we get our head around it? Everything is interconnected, or as an economist would say, everything is endogenous.  Post WWII the tendency was to be narrowly focused, mostly on recruiting manufacturing firms: “shoot anything that flies, claim anything that lands”  1960s-1970s a more “holistic approach” was adopted (environmental movement, civil rights, etc.)  1980s-1990s swing back to more focused efforts (holistic approaches were just too unmanageable)  2000s-today swinging back to holistic via “systems thinking” but more focused on economic opportunities.

Its impossible to work on the whole puzzle at once, you need to focus on parts but keep the whole puzzle in mind.

It is bottoms up It is integrative It is strategically driven It is collaborative It is interactive It is multi-dimensional It is reflective It is asset based It is based on theory It is based on analytics

Recommended Readings (Three books you should have on your shelf.)

Shaffer, R., S.C. Deller and D.W. Marcouiller. (2004). Community Economics: Linking Theory and Practice. Blackwell: Oxford England.

Phillips, R. and R.M. Pittman (2009). “An Introduction to Community Development. Routledge: New York.

Green, G.P. and A. Haines. 2011. Asset Building and Community Development. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, California. (Revised and expanded 3rd edition).

Prepared by Steven Deller, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension